Appabattjs fob distilling oil from oil-bearing



H. R. STRAIGHT.

I APPARATUS FOH-DISTILLING 01L FROM OIL BEARING SHALES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3!. I918. V 1,823,204. Patented Nov. 25,1919.

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H. R. STRAIGHT.

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING OIL FROM OIL-BEARING SHALES.

1 23,204. Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

HEETSSHEET 2 Invader @mew @6 2% mm m! a T Y m W n APPARATUS H. R.STRAIGHT. FOR DISTILLING OIL FROM OIL BEARING SHALESV APPLICATION HLED.IULY 31.1918.

Patented Nov; 25, 1919'.

SHEETS-SHEET 3.

H.'R. STRAIGHT. APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING OIL FROM OIL BEARING SHALES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1918. 1,323,204. Patented Nov. 25,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Fig. 4.

- the vapors, and in which UNITED s'rArns PATENT OFFICE.

-HALVEB R. STRAIGHT, O F ADEL, IOWA.

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING OIL FROM OIL-BEARING SHALES.

and resident of Adel, in the county of Dallas and State of Iowa, haveinvented acertain new and useful Ap aratus for Distilling Oil fromOil-Bearing ghales, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of simple, durableand inexpensive construction, for distilling oil from oil bearingshales. p

A further object is to provide an apparatus of this kind wherebylarge-quantities of shale may be subjected to the necessary amount ofheat during the necessary length of time for vapor zing the oil productin a minimum of time, whereby a relatively inexpensive apparatus isprovided that will treat relatively large quantities ofshale in a time.A further object is to provide-a device of this class in which steam maybe intro:

duced into the shale at proper times for assisting in the distillationand separation of the shale may be repeatedly turned over or agitated toassist the escape of the vapors from the mass of shale.

A further tus of this class in which the oilbea-ring shales may becontinuously moved in wide-,- thin layers over a substantiallyhorizontally arranged heating chamber, through a series of vaporchambers above the shale so that the vapor when once released from theshale will immediately pass into a vapor chamber from which it maybegdrawn-to a suitable -condenser and container therefor, and maintamedseparated fromthe vapors later released, and whereby the separation ofthe vapors from the shale is accomplished rapidly and with a maximum ofefficiency.

A further object is to provide an improved means for conveying shale ina thin, wide layer without permitting the flame from the heater topenetrate through the layer of shale or to become commingled with thevapors arising from the shale.

A further ob ect is to provide an imoved car device for carrying thethin layer of shale through the heated areas of the apparatus and formaintaining the shale carried thereby at a uniform thickness.

A further object is to provide improved object is to provide an ap g;

Specif cation of Letters Patent. Patented N 25, 1919. Application filed.July 31, 1918. Seria1 No. 247,693. I I

means for advancing the ..cars through the heated areas of theapparatus, and to maintainthem in close contact with each other purposeof subjecting substantially all of the shale on the cars to the actionof the steam, and for compelling the steam, or the major portion of it,to travel through the thin layer of shale uniformly before escapvaporchambers.

A .further object is to provide improved means for sealin the vaporchamber from the combustion c amber at-all times during the travel ofthe shale bearingcars, to thereby avoid the possibility of the flamefrom .the combustion chamber igniting the vapors. I f' My inventionconsists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the variousparts of the apparatus, whereby the-objects contemplated are attained,as hereinafter more fully set' forth, pointed out in my claims andillustrated in the drawings, in which: I

' Figure 1 shows 'a vertical, central, longitu dinal,-sectional view ofthe frontor loading end of an apparatus embodying my .inven t1on.

Fig. 2 portion of the same. I

Fig. 3 hows a like view of the rear or accompanying i discharge endportion of the same.

Fig. 4 shows a transverse, sectional view on the line 4-4: of Fig.- 2.

section, illustrating the shale contaming hopper and the means fordelivering material therefrom to the cars as they enter the distillingchamber. Fig. 6 shows a. detail sectional view, illusto provide an imingthrough the top of the shale into the shows a like view of the centraltrating the friction clutch device applied to the axle of the means forushing the cars into the receiving chamber eneath the hopper.

. Fig. 5 shows an end elevatlon, partly in 1 Fig. 7 shows a detail, sideelevation, partly in section, illustrating the means for couplingtogether the sand seals of the shale carrying cars.

Fig. 8 shows a detail top or plan view of the steam nozzle device forinjecting steam under the layer of shale.

Fig. 9 shows a side elevation of same.

Fig. 10 shows an enlarged sectional view on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 shows an enlarged, detail, sectional view, illustrating the sandseal between the ends of the two adjoining shale carrying cars.

Fig. 12 shows a sectional View illustrating the shale leveling and gassealing device for the receiving end of the vapor chamber, and

Fig. 13 shows a side elevation of one of the shale stirring plows.

Referring'to the accompanying drawings,

I have used the reference numeral 10 to 1ndicate generally the base ofthe apparatus, having upright side walls 11 and the top arch 12preferably-made, or at least lined, with fire brick.

At about the horizontal center of the chamber thus formed are therecesses 13, containing the rails 14, and upon these rails are mountedthe shale carrying cars, which, together with the sand sealing devices,constitute a sort of horizontally arranged partition separating thecombustion chamber from the vapor chamber. The combustion chamber isindicated generally by the numeral 15, and the vapor chamber isindicated generally by the numeral 16. Within the combustion chamber isa series of gas jets 17 or other suitable means for supplymg heat.

The shale carrying cars each comprise a fiat base member 18preferably'provided with ribs 19 on its upper surface for strengtheningpurposes. At the sides of the base member 18 are the upright sides 20for forming a container for the shale. These sides ieferably "projectdownwardly a considera le distance below the bottom 18, and

these projecting members are indicated by the numeral 21, and are forthe purpose of forming a sand seal. Directly beneath these projectingmembers 21 is a longitudinally arranged recess 22 in the side wall,which recess is preferably filled with sand or the like to receive'thesea-ling members 21.

On the sides of the shale carrying cars thus formed are the flangedsupporting wheels 23 to travel upon the rails 14.

At one end of each car is a trough-shaped sealing member 25, and at theother end a downwardly extending coacting sealing member 26. Thetrough-shaped member is filled with a sealing material. such as sand,and the other member enters it, as shown in Fig. 11, thus preventing theentrance of flame to the spaces between the ends of the cars.

For the purpose of preventing the passage of flame from the combustionchamber into the vapor chamber, and also for the purpose of preventingthe vapor from surrounding the walls and entering the sand seal at thesides of the cars, I have provided plates 27 fixed at their upper endsto the walls 11 and extended downwardly and yieldingly engaging theinner surfaces of the u right sides of the cars, as clearly shown in ig.4:.

For the purpose .of loading the shale carrying cars with a layer ofshale of uniform depth, I have provided a suitable hopper 28 arrangedbeneath a railway track 29, which hopper is provided with downwardly andinwardly inclined sides '30 extended to points just inside of the sidesof the cars. On the car receiving end of the hopper is an uprightpartition-member 31, with its lower end extended downwardly to a pointflush with the tops of the sides of the cars, and on the other side ofthe hopper member adjacent to the vapor chamber, is a wall 32.

Beneath this wall 32 is a shale leveling and gas sealin deviceillustrated in detail in Fig. 12. T is device comprises a metal plate 33extended downwardly and forwardly to a point just over the top of theshale carrying cars, and on the interior of the vapor chamber is anapron 3t hinged or flexibly secured at its forward upper end to the Walland extended downwardly and designed to rest upon the shale carried bythe car. Hence, by having the device for leveling off the top of theshale and then an apron for lying fiat against the level portion of theshale, the escape of vapor at this point is substantially prevented.

To provide means for preventing the escape of heat from the receivingend of the combustion chamber, I have provided a flat metal plate 35extended in a substantially horizontal direction and designed to projectunder and contact with two of the sand sealing troughs of two adjacentcars. This plate is held upwardly into yielding contact with thesesealing troughs by means of a weight 36, the plate being pivotallysupported upon a T-beam 37 resting on the wall 38.

The products of combustion, after passing under the shale carrying cars,is discharged through the transverse flue 39 to a suitable stack.

To provide for forcing the shale carrying cars under the hopper toreceive a load of parallel shafts 41 and 42 provided with sprocketwheels 43 over which is passed a sprocket chain 44 having lugs 45thereon designed to engage the sand seal troughs 25 of the shalecarrying cars. This shaft 42 is driven by means of the large pulley 46loosely mounted on the shaft and provided with a cone friction drivedevice 47, the friction cone being yieldingly held by a spring 48 inengagement with the pulley 46. By this arrangement it will be seen thata constant pressure is applied to the driving shaft 42, and if the shaft42 cannot turn then the pulley may slip on the friction cone. preferablyfrom a motor 50 or other source of power.

Located in the inclined track 40 adjacent to its lower end, is a lug 51,shown in Fig. 7 which lug serves the purpose of engaging the frontWheels ofa shale carrying car and elevating the entire car above thetrack far enough to permit the sand sealing member 26 to enter thetrough 25 of the adjacent car. Then after the car passes over the lug 51the sand seal device will remain ina sealed position throughout the restof the travel of the car-through the apparatus.

For the purpose of holding all of the cars within the combustion chamberin position firmly against each other, and for preventing any of thecars from separating, I have provided at the discharge end thereof adevice comprising two parallel shafts 52 and 53 provided with sprocketwheels 54, over which is passed a sprocket chain 55 having lugs 56designed to engage the sand sealing troughs of the cars. This device isdriven by means of a large sprocket wheel 57 on the shaft 53, connectedby a sprocket chain 58 with a sprocket wheel 59 on the shaft 60, whichshaft 60 is driven by a sprocket wheel 61 thereon, connected with asprocket chain 62 which is driven in turn from a power shaft 63.

By this arrangement the movement of the shale bearing cars through thedevice is accurately timed, and if it is desired to have the cars movefaster or slower, it may be regulated by changing the speed of the shaft63 in any suitable manner.

Directly in the rear of the said retarding device is a refuse dischargehopper 64 arranged to discharge its contents upon a belt conveyor device65 for removing the refuse to a suitable point of discharge. The trackon which the shale bearing cars travel is curved downwardly directlyabove the hopper 63 at 66, and then upwardly over the inclined frame 67.This curve in the track at 66 provides means whereby the troughshapedportion of the sand seal on each car becomes automatically detached fromthe Said pulley is driven by a belt 49,

to cause the contents of each car to discharge into the hopper 64, theposition of the car at this point being illustrated in Fig. 3.

For carrying the cars up the inclined frame 67, I have provided asprocket chain 68 traveling over the sprocket wheels 69 and 70. Thesprocket wheel 69 is loose on the shaft 63, and the sprocket wheel 70 isfixed to a shaft 71, which shaft is driven by a motor 72 through a beltand pulley device 73, running at a comparatively high speed, so that assoon as each car is discharged from the retarding device at thedischarge end of the combustion chamber, it is immediately disconnectedfrom the adjacent car and rapidly carried up the-incline. At the top ofthe incline the lug 71 is withdrawn from the car, and then the car isfree to run down the incline by gravity. At a point some distance belogithe top of the incline 67 are the hinged track sections 74, which aremoved upwardly out of the way by an ascending car, and then dropped bygravity to the position shown in Fig. 3, so that as soon as the car isreleased it will travel downwardly over the incline and then over thehinged track sections 74 upon the inclined track 75, which returns thecar by ravity to the receiving end of the com ustion chamber.

For the purpose of permitting the returning car to'travel in a straightline, I have provided in the hopper 28 a recess or opening indicated byt and at the forward end of the inclined track e numeral 76 in Fig. 5,

75 is another hinged track section 77, norreturning car will run up theinclined track 40'to the spring bumper 79 and then return by gravity tothe car ushing device for forcing the cars under t e shale containinghopper.

At the discharge end of the combustion and vapor chambers is a gassealing device 80, similar to the gas sealing device shown Y in Fig. 12.

During the time that the shale is being subjected to heat it isdesirable to keep it constantly stirred so that the vapors may readilyarise from it. and for this purpose I have provided within the vaporchamber a series of cross pieces 81, each of which is provided with anumber of uprights 82 secured thereto. On the lower end of each upright82 is a shale stirring plow 83, designed to come close to the topsurfaces of the car bodies 18 and to turn over and agitate the shalecontained thereon, to free the vapors so that they will freely arisethrough the mass of shale, and so that the various articles will beturned under against the ot car body 18.

During the time that the shale is progressing through the combustionchamber, the vapor is assisted in separating from the shale, anddecomposition of the oil vapors is prevented, if jets of steam areinserted, and for efiiciently applying steam to an apparatus of thiskind I have provided a steamsupply pipe 84, and at certain intervalsthroughout the length of the combustion chamber are the transverselyextended steam pipes 85 connected with the supply pipe 84:. Extendeddownwardly from the pipe 85 are the pipes 86, the lower ends of whichare extended forwardly horizontally and are perforated on their undersurfaces at 87. Above these perforations is a flat plate 88, ta eredfrom a maximum at its forward en toward the rear end. These plates 88pass under the body of shale very close to the bottoms 18 of the shalecarrying cars, and tend to scrapethe shale from the bottom, thus leavinga space. The steam enters this space and must then'move laterally underthe plate 88 to the sides thereof, wh re: it will pass upwardly throughthe shale; as this is the-line of least resistance. In devices of thisclass heretofore, the vapors that arise from the shale have beenconducted through suitable pipes to a con: denser. and there condensedinto the form of crude oil, which later'has' .been again constituents, j

densed intheiof crude oil, but each of the :galuable i-g redients-of-.the*oil bearing .shale;"when it as been-released] from the ortreatments.

For, accomplishing this purpose I' have .provideda combustion" chamberin which the heat is a plied principally at the dis then passes underall of the shalei'bearing cars to the flue. The fresh shale is admittedinto the receiving end of the combustion chamber, and when heat isapplied the more 65 volatile vapors arise "from the shale first. Thenafter the car has progressed through the combustion chamber to a certainextent, the shale becomes heated to a greater degree and certain other"vapors less volatile than the first arise from it, and so on;

I have provided for keeping these different vapors separated, asfollows:

Arranged in the vapor chamber is a series of transverse partitions 89,each of which has at its lower end a gas sealing device 90 treated inlsuch manner as jto separate its I at the same time and into the firstvapor chamber, thus assisting in the separation of 1 the various Vao'rs.

One of'i'the important advantages oflmy: improved apparatus-is that thevapors after: having once-been separated from theshale by heat,are-not.againcommingled"and con- 40 vided, and all of the valuableproducts of charge end 0 the combustion chamber, and.

similar to the one illustrated in Fig. 12, and at the top of eachcompartment thus formed in the combustion chamber is the vapor dischargepipe 91 leading to a condenser or suitable point of discharge. By meansof this arrangement I have found that in the first chamber into whichthe shales are introduced, the vapor arising therefrom, when condensed,contains a large percentage of gasolene and is substantially free fromlubricating oils, paraflin and the like. In the second chamber thevapors that arise therefrom, when condensed, form burning oilscontaining a large percentage of kerosene, but practically nolubricating oils or paraflin. Whereas, in the last chamber the vaporsarising therefrom, when condensed, are composed principally oflubricating oils and parafiin. These various products, when thusseparated, may be then purified into commercial form much more rapidlyand less expensively than could be done if all of the vapor werecondensed into the form of crude oil.

One of the advantages of my improved apparatus is that the oil bearingshales of the smallest or finest character may be of fectively treated.In fact, I prefer to reduce all of the shale to a size that willpassthrough an 'inch mesh screen, or even smaller 95 in some shales.Furthermore, by havin the shale arranged in a very thin layer 0 exactluniform thickness, substantially all of t e light, volatile oils willpass out of it :By means 0 my improved device a con-. tmuousprocess oftreating the shale is pro- 105 the shale may be removed from it in much4 less time than is possible with any prior de-' Q shale, is vaporizedand kepts'eparated from ;the other ingredients, thus dispensing in ay;largemeasure with I two separate processes has a very large capacity,and is substan- 1 0 tially automatic in its operation, except, of

course, for the operating 'motors- Practically all the attention that isrequired by an operator is the caring for the sand seals, which isattended to in the troughs 25 by an 116 operator just prior to the timewhen the cars are engaged by the lugs 45 on the car driving device.

' It is my purpose to utilize my machine for handling a great variety.of products having 12 hydro-carbon oils. For instance, I believe mymachine could be used in connection with the handling of coal where cokeis a by-product.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of inclosingWalls, the lower portion of the space between the walls comprising acombustion chamber, and the upper portion comprising a vapor chamber, a130 series of material supporting cars arranged for movement insubstantially horizontal planes between the combustion chamber and viceson the cars and the walls for prevent-' ing the passage of products ofcombustion upwardly past the cars, coacting sealing devices on thesuccessive cars to prevent the passage of said products of combustionupwardly between the cars, and coacting means on the cars and the wallsabove the first described sealing devices for support ing the cars intheir position between the walls. I 1 v 2. Inan apparatus of the classdescribed,

I the combination of inclosing walls, the lower portion of the spacebetween the walls comprising a combustion chamber, and'the upper portioncomprising avapor chamber, a series of material supporting cars arrangedfor movement in substantially horizontal planes between the combustionchamber and the vapor chamber, and arranged to form a partition betweensaid chambers, sealing devices on the cars and the walls for preventingthe passage of products of combustion upwardly past the cars, coactingsealing devices on the successive cars to prevent the passage of saidproducts upwardly between the cars, and coacting means onthe cars andthe walls above the first described sealing devices for supporting thecars in their position between the walls, and vapor sealing devicesbetween the cars and the side walls.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of inclosingwalls, the lower portion of the spacebetween the wallscomprising acombustion chamber, and the upper portion a vapor chamber, a series ofmaterial supporting cars arranged for movement in a substantiallyhorizontal plane between the walls, said cars being adapted to form apartition between the combustion chamber and the vapor chamber,partitions extending across the vapor chamber having sealing devicesadapted to coact with the cars and the contents thereof at the lowerends of said partitions for dividing the vapor chamber intocompartments, means for conducting vapor from the various compartments,and means for supplying maximum heat in the combustion chamber adjacentto the discharge end of the device, the heat supplying means beingarranged to supply gradually reduced heat toward the intake end of thedevice, where by the incoming material is subjected to the minimum heatand the outgoing material to the maximum heat.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of aninclosure member, the upper portion of which forms a vapor chamber andthe lower portion a combustion chamber, a series of cars arranged totravel through said inclosure member between the combustion chamber andthe vapor chamber, and coactlng means on the cars and the 1nclosuremember for supporting the cars during such travel, and means forpreventing the passage of products of combustion or vapors from thematerial in the cars to said supporting means. I

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of aninclosure member having a combustion chamber at its lower portion and avapor chamber at its upper portion, cars for carrying material throughsaid inclosure member between the combustion and vapor chambers, atransverse partition in the vapor chamber for separating the vaporchamber into compartments, and means for forming a substantially vaportight seal between said partition and the top of the layer of materialbeing advanced through the apparatus, said means comprising materialleveling devices adjacentto the partition, and a movable sealing memberadapted to yieldingly engage the top of the layer of materialbeingdriven beneath the partition. 1

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of aninclosure member having acombustion chamber at its lower portion and avapor chamber at its upper portion, cars for carrying material throughsaid inclosure member between the combustion and vapor chambers,a-"transverse partition in the vapor chamber for separating the vaporchamber into compartments, means for forming a substantially vapor tightseal between said partition and the top of the layer of material beingadvanced through the apparatus, said means comprising material levelingdevices adjacent to the partition, and a movable sealing member adaptedto yieldingly engage the top of the layer of material being drivenbeneath the partition and means for applying heat to the under side ofthe material conveying means and for applying a minimum of said heat tothe material in the compartments at the intake end of the inclosure, anda maximum of heat to the compartment'at the discharge end of theinclosure.

7. In an apparatus of the class described,

an inclosure, a plurality of cars adapted to travel through saidinclosure, and forming travel through said inclosure, and forming apartition between the upper and lower parts of the inclosure, forforming combustion and vapor chambers, means for forming a seal betweenthe cars and the sides of the inclosure, means for forming a sealbetween the cars while they are traveling through the inclosure, saidcars being opened at their ends, steam pipes projecting downwardly intothe path of the material carried by said cars.

9. In an apparatus of the class described, an inclosure, a series ofcars adapted to travel through said inclosure, means for forming a sealbetween the successive cars, said means comprising a trough shapedmember on each car and a downwardly projecting flange on the adjacentcar adapted to enter said trough-shaped member, and a car elevatingdevice designed to elevate one end of each car in a certain position ofthe cars travel, causing the flange thereon to enter the trough on theadjacent car.

10. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of aninclosure member, the upper portion of which forms a vapor chamber andthe lower portion a combustion chamber, a series of cars arranged totravel through said inclosure member between the combustion chamber andthe vapor chamber, and coacting means on the cars and the inclosuremember for supporting the cars during such travel, and means forpreventing thelpassagebf vapors from the material in the cars to saidsupporting means.

11. In an apparatus of the class described,

, the combination of an inclosure member, a

plurality of cars for carrying material through said inclosure member,and for dividing the inclosure member into an upper vapor chamber and alower combustion chamber, said cars having open ends and having in theirbottoms longitudinally arranged, spaced, upwardly extending ribs,agitating and steam supply members including supply pipes extendingdownwardly through the vapor chamber, and members at the lower end'ofsaid supply pipe extending fowardly therefrom, whereby one of said lastdescribed members will raise the material between one pair of ribsduring the progress of the cars, and permit said material to be droppedover the sides of said last described member, said last described memberhaving steam discharge openings in said sides, whereby steam will bedischarged in such a way as to subject all of the material to the actionof such-steam.

12. In an apparatus of the class described;

the combination of inclosing walls, the lower portion of the spacebetween the walls comprising a combustion chamber, and the upper portioncomprising a vapor chamber; a series of material supporting carsarranged for movement in a substantially horizontal plane between thecombustion chamber and the vapor chamber; sealing devices for formingjoints between the successive cars,

and between the cars and the walls, whereby the cars themselves form apartition between said chambers, whereby heat may be applied directly tothe under sides of the cars, and by radiation through the cars to thematerial in the cars.

Des Moines, Iowa, July 6, 1918.

' HALVER R. STRAIGHT.

